Goodbye USA, Hello Paraguay

We have arrived in Paraguay and are settling into our new home:

The first week has been CRAZY.  I thought I would try to summarize the first few days.  I hope that I will get a little more punctual with the posts but we have just not had time between recovering from jet lag and going to church (a lot of church).

On Saturday (Feb 23) we threw our KY-themed going away bash for the sisters at our house in Albuquerque.  As mentioned in the previous post, the entire dinner was KY-themed (Benedictine, Pimento Cheese, Hot Browns and Derby Pie).  It was a hit!!!  The Sisters loved it and we had a great time.  We were also lucky enough to be joined by Hiliary, the past volunteer from Paraguay.  She brought pictures and answers to many of our questions.  West stayed up until 4 AM talking with her. 

Sunday (Feb 24) was a day of final errands around town and then we had our final mass and going away celebration in the evening.  An older Priest in the area said the mass and he wrote a very nice homily that I thought I would share:

Bill & Chelsey, it is good to be here.  This is a special moment...a top of the mountain experience.  On behalf of the Sisters, I offer our congratulations on your openness to the call to serve as volunteers for the next five months in Encarnacion, Paraguay.  In the spirit of the Latin word "trans" meaning a bridge to cross over, you are leaving the familiar to go and work among the poor and carry the light of Christ in your hearts and in all you do.  It is like Abraham in the first reading, who accepted the call of God and he was prepared to leave home, prepared to leave behind the familiar and go even though God didn't tell him where.  Abraham placed his trust in God.  Well, you know your designation but you  don't know how this upcoming experience will unfold...it remains a mystery..and so like Abraham, you place your trust in God.  Perhaps you already know intuitively but you will have an eye opening experience that will change you, will transform your hearts in ways you could never have imagined.  No doubt there will be some hard times, you will feel helpless at times and will wonder how people endure, how do they persevere.  On the other hand, you will be overwhelmed by the spirit of hospitality and generosity, the dancing eyes and smiles of children will disarm you in wonderful ways.  All that and more, you will see the reality of the Cross and you will get a glimpse of the other side of the Cross where hope and promise endure with much faith and love.  May you find much satisfaction and joy being messengers of God's love and compassion.

Following the Homily he blessed our missionary crosses and then there was a presentation ceremony (right).  There were 30-40 people at the Ceremony including the Sisters, Mary (the VOICA Coordinato), Stephen (Mary’s BF) and many of our friends from San Jose. Following mass we had a very nice meal in the Spirituality Center,

Monday (Feb. 25) was crazy.  This was our final day of running errands and packing.  We also went to San Jose for a final time because we wanted to say goodbye to our Monday night Catecismo class.  We took rice krispie treats and said our goodbyes (right).

Tuesday (Feb. 26) was the day of departure.  We packed all morning and were at the airport by 1:00 (MST) which is 5:00 PM (Paraguay Time).  We flew from Albuquerque to Dallas to Miami to Asuncion and landed at about 9:00 AM (Paraguay Time).  This was rough because it the flight was all night but could have been okay if we were at the end of our journey but we were not.  

We got off the plane Wednesday (Feb. 27) morning in Asuncion and the first thing we had to do was get our visa.  At the airport you can only get a 90-day visa.  We need a visa for 6 months.  Not normally a big deal because you can just but another visa at the end of 90 days….EXCEPT I cannot because my passport expires in October and they will not sell you a visa unless your passport is good for an additional 6 months following the issuance of a visa.  Bottom Line – I needed to buy a 6-month visa OR I will have to get a new passport. 

Anyhow, we got our 90-day visas, found our baggage and all we knew was we were looking for a nun.  We left customs and the first person we say was Sister Noemi (Pronounced: No! Amy) greeting us with a homemade sign.  Somehow, miraculously, I explained the above Visa situation to Sister Noemi.  She then made it her mission to solve this issue on that very day.  Just to provide a brief description, Sister Noemi is probably in her 60’s, a bit short and is very jovial.  We went from the airport to some place you can get visas (looks like the DMV) to the Department of Foreign Affairs (similar to the State Department?) and then to the Bureau of Emigration.  At the Bureau of Immigration we dropped off Passports and were told to return in 3 hours.  In the meantime we went and got lunch and chatted (in very broken Spanish) over empanadas in the bus terminal.  At 1:30 we went and jumped on a public bus with Sr. and went back downtown.  The buses deserve some explanation.  First, they are not concerned about complete stops.  Jump on and jump off while it is still rolling.  Second, street peddlers and kids just duck under the turnstile and come on for free.  They are all selling prayers cards, homemade drinks, food, etc.

When we got back to the Bureau of Emigration all they provided was a letter saying that our Visa was valid (no joke…right?…you just issued it at the airport).  Anyhow, they told us to call the US Embassy, which I plan on doing this week.  Following this failure in Visa department, we got back on the public bus and went back the bus station.  It was 5:00 PM and we were only a short 6 hour bus ride away from our home, Encarnacion. 

The bus was very nice, complete with two stories and a bathroom.  Chelsey and I could, at this point, barely keep our eyes open.  We slept on and off until our arrival at 11:30 or 12:00.  At the Bus Station we were picked up by Sister Marianna and taken to our new home.  More pictures will follow but here are a couple of the house, our room and our barrio (neighborhood) just to give you an idea...

Chelsey was chilling while I took photos.  The room is not that big but we have lots of closets.

  

The bathroom is across the hallway.  We basically have an entire wing to ourselves on the second flood of the convent.  The kindergarten where we will be teaching is in the downstairs.